Christmas in July
by xenophileCorvid
Summary: It's true that some people celebrate Christmas in July, and that includes everything: even some old traditions involving plants. Nagi's birthday is in July, and his friends decide to spread a bit of Christmas cheer. Rima also has a special gift for him


**A/N: This one-shot is dedicated to Nagihiko, for his birthday. I was feeling like writing a Christmas fic, but it's summer, so I compromised. Happy birthday, Nagi! We all love you very much!**

**Summary: It's true that some people celebrate Christmas in July, and that includes everything: even some old traditions involving plants. Nagi's birthday is in July, and his friends decide to spread a bit of Christmas cheer. Rima also has a special gift for him…**

Christmas in July

"Rima-tan, which one is from you?" Yaya asked, popping up behind her. Everyone was gathered in Nagihiko's large living room as he opened his birthday gifts.

"Um… my gift comes in two parts. I have to give it to you tomorrow, Purplehead. You'll see why," Rima explained. Amu whispered something into Yaya's ear, and the younger girl's eyes widened, and she covered her mouth to keep from squealing in excitement.

"Now?" she asked. The pinkette nodded.

"Well, until then," said Amu, "Can we get a picture of you two together?"

Grumbling, Rima sat on the couch next to Nagihiko. She glared at him, and he sweat-dropped, then both of them smiled for a picture. After the flash had gone off several times, Rima began to stand up, but felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Yaya.

"What?" she asked. Nagihiko looked upward and smirked.

"Look up," he told her. Aggravating, Rima did so, to see Yaya holding a sprig of something green above their heads.

"It's a plant," she stated, bored, and began to rise again, but Yaya pushed her back down..

"No, no, Rima-tan!" she exclaimed, "You can't get up yet!"

"Rima-chan," Nagihiko said, "That's mistletoe."

"So?"

"So you guys have to kiss!" said Amu. Rima crossed her arms.

"I'm not stupid. I know the difference between summer and Christmas. It's not Christmas, so it doesn't count," she insisted.

"Rima-chan…" Utau began, "Haven't you ever heard of Christmas in July?" Yaya began waving the mistletoe impatiently. There was a long silence.

"She's right, there is such thing as Christmas in July," Nagihiko pointed out. Rima sighed in defeat.

"Fine."

Nagihiko cupped her chin and pressed his lips gently to hers. Despite the fact she'd known it was coming, Rima was slightly surprised, and her eyes widened before she closed them and found herself actually enjoying it. She hesitantly began to kiss him back, and it lasted much longer than either of them had intended, or anyone else in the room had expected. If her eyes had been open, Rima would have noticed the flash of Amu's camera go off. Nagihiko pulled back reluctantly, and everyone else cheered.

Rima's face was bright red, and she rose from the couch and took the camera from Amu. "Arigato," she told her friend quietly. Amu simply smiled and gave her a quick nod.

**~The next day~**

Nagihiko flipped open his cell phone as it sounded to let him know he had received a text message.

**From:** M. Rima

**To:** F. Nagihiko

**Subject:** b-day gift

_Meet me at the park in 10 minutes. I have the second half of your present._

The first thought to go through Nagihiko's head was _second half?_ _What was the first half?_ He pondered this as he made his way to the park, but couldn't quite figure it out. Before he knew it, he was at the park. He scanned the area for Rima, and saw her sitting on a bench. Her long honey-colored curls were lit up by the sunlight and she looked breath-taking as he made his way toward her.

Suddenly, Rima's head snapped up, and a smile appeared on her face when she saw Nagihiko. _That has to be the first time she's smiled when she sees me._ Nagihiko smiled back, and she stood as he reached her. In her hands was an item wrapped in shiny red paper. Hesitantly, she handed it to him.

"This is the second part of my gift," she explained.

"What was the first part?" Nagihiko asked in confusion. Rima blushed and looked at her feet.

"Yesterday, I gave you my first kiss," she said quietly. Nagihiko wasn't quite sure what to say. In fact, he had absolutely no idea what to say. He was speechless.

"Gomennesai," he told her, as it was the first thing that came to his mind. She looked up from the ground, a slightly annoyed expression on her face.

"Baka," she muttered, "Just open the present."

Nagihiko did as she commanded, and found a box inside. When he removed the lid, he was shocked. A small gasp escaped him as he pulled out a photograph, framed in a plain white frame. It was the picture Amu had taken of Rima and him and kissing. Below it, a small strip of paper was glued to the glass, on which were written the words _I love you._

A stunned silence ensued. "Do you mean it?" She nodded.

"Yes. I really, really love you, Nagihiko."

A smile burst across Nagihiko's face, and he embraced her. "I love you, too, Rima-chan," he said, "And this is the best birthday present I've ever gotten."

"There's something else in the box," Rima muttered into his chest.

He let her go and looked in the box again. Indeed, there were two more pictures in there. One was of Rima glaring at him, and the other was of both of them smiling at the camera. Nagihiko picked them up, and underneath them, lying at the bottom of the box, was a sprig of mistletoe.

"Merry Christmas in July?" Rima said.

**A/N: That's the ending. Hope you liked it. It was kinda short. Actually, it was really short, but I wanted the ending to reflect the title. Stories are always better that way. I also had a writer's block while writing this, and I was interrupted in the middle to go buy fireworks. My favorites are the ground blooms, so I got a whole bunch of those XD.**

** In case you didn't get it, Rima had been planning it all along, so when she was acting like she hated him the day before, that was just part of the act she was putting together for his present. Amu and Yaya were in on it, too, if that also wasn't obvious. Heheh, sorry if I confused anyone.**

** Review, onegai!**

** Oh, and if you haven't voted on my poll, please do so. I need to decide what to write next, because the Million Dollar Bet is almost over. Arigato!**


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